Information Skills

If it is true that we live in the Information Age, then information skills are essential, not just for our students to flourish, but for them even to survive. This fact is only intensified by the accelerated rate of change which greets our students as they look to their future lives.

The MSAD #16 information skills K-12 curriculum has two major components: library and technology.

The library focus is on the research process, where students learn how to acquire, evaluate, interpret, and communicate information. It is not bound to any specific resources or technology; instead, it represents the process necessary for students to internalize meaning in any subject area, in any set of circumstances they may meet in life. In order to develop and master this process, students require systematic, structured opportunities. Such opportunities are offered in the curriculum that is presented in the other content areas of this document.

Similarly, the technology section does not focus on specific pieces of software or hardware. Like traditional library resources, technology changes too rapidly and quickly becomes obsolete. Instead, the emphasis is on the kinds of tasks students need to accomplish and the way technology can serve as a useful tool. And like the research process, technology is introduced at an early stage so that all students are able to view it not as an extra, but as an essential tool. Early introduction also provides the opportunity for all students to develop and master skills at an increasingly sophisticated level as they progress through school.

While information skills stands as a separately articulated curriculum, both the library and technology components are closely linked to the other content areas. For maximum benefit, they will be taught, not in isolation, but wholly integrated with the other areas. It is only at this level of integrated application that information skills can be effectively realized.

No matter what challenges our students meet as they face the changing world before them, with the research and technical expertise presented here, our students will have the information skills to participate as informed, productive members of society.

MSAD #16 Framework for Academic Standards Fall 1997

Information Skills